Rodman

So my job for the last 4 or so days have been getting the tie rods preped and up on the structure. I cleaned them and put them into place. All round me the malians and our team of 11 guys and Kay have been lifting beams, welding parts together, cutting pieces to make the building fit and bolting them all together. After I had cleaned the tie rods Jason our leader of this building project asked me to take on the project of placing these tie rods into place. He said you are not the "Rodman." I commented that I don't have colorful hair and tons of piercings. He didn't say anything back. Since then everytime I see him he says "Rodman" out of the corner of his mouth and in kinda a grandpa-ish voice. I laugh and go about my task. I enjoy having a task and not having to worry about anything else. I know I am a typical male that likes to have one thing at a time and do that. It is true I do. *For those of you that do not know what the rods do on a building this big they help support the building and keep it square. That is the best definition that I have. Today I got to use a hammer drill. (I got to get me one of those, but I am not sure where I would use it) It is a drill that also plusates to go through congrete. It is a fun toy. While I was doing that the last beams were put into place and the sheeting for the second floor was put on. Monday i will place my last tie rod into place.

At night I have been cooking. Yesterday I made, mashpotatoes, gravy, cornish game hens, and green bean cassirole. That doesn't sound like a fiet to many of you. But I had to bake the 7 chickens in three pans, because two pans wouldn't fit. The oven doesn't have a dial to tell what the heat is in the oven. The green beans were made in the toaster because the chicken took up the whole oven and the pan that they were prepared in didn't fit in the toaster either. The mashpotatoes were made on the stove top. With water boiling in a pan 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep. Then quickly had to transfer that so I could clean that and make the gravy in that same pot. Lets just say that the kitchen was a mess. So everything turned out well the chicken was not totally done. But the crew were gracious to eat around it. But the second set that I took out turned out great. Tonight I got a night off. We went out to dinner paid for by the Pastor Sears. We didn't eat anything funny but on the menu (that we didn't have cause it was not made) was monkey, porcupine, anteater, and gazelle. At the end we went out back and a man was cleaning up a monkey for a meal tomorrow. It smelled sick. One of the guys from Pensilvania said he would have rather perfered my chicken I made last night compared to what we had tonight. So I have named myself "Coats' kitchen"

My prayers for the last few days have been for the Malian guys, the patients here at the church to be spiritually and physically healed; the missionaries to continue on serving and being a light in a dark place; for other doctors to come fill roles that are vacant at the hospital; supplies needed here toys for the kids hurt, crayons, new play house, kids movies in french, and picnic tables; and safety for the team working.